How Safe Locks Are Rated

Updated on August 1, 2010

How To Rate Safe Locks

Safe
locks are a heck of a lot more complicated than you may think. Lock
manufacturers are always trying to stay a step ahead of skillful
burglars on the prowl in order to give the consumer the sense of
protection that they’re paying for.

So, how do we rate safe locks? Excellent question.

Safe
locks range in variety, resiliency and complexity, and are rated to
reflect those qualities. The leader in rating locks, effectively
creating an industry standard is UL (Underwriters Laboratories). They
put thousands of locks to the test based on a consistent and totally
unbiased system. UL employs teams of professional [ethical] safe
crackers to use everything from screwdrivers to explosives test the
constitution of a safe, and as relevant to our discussion, the locks.

Though
UL has a standard for multiple lock types, as well as extra features
like time locking, for our intents and purposes, they break down the safe
locking systems into two primary types; combination and electronic
locks.

Safe lock handle

This safe lock has definitely been put to the test.

Combination and Eletronic Locks

Combination Locks

Combination
locks are rated mainly based on their overall reliability, and their
resistance to manipulation. Resistance to physical damage isn’t really
taken into account, as that’s primarily assessed during the testing of
the safe itself.

Group 2 locks:
Combination locks with a Group 2 listing are most common among RSCs
(residential security containers). Most gun safes that you find in
sporting good stores are actually RSCs, and not “safes”. Group 2 locks
display resistance to “semi-skilled” safe manipulation; UL awards a
passing score to locks that demonstrate the ability to withstand forced
entry for 5 minutes during an onslaught of everything from pry bars to
high speed carbide drills.

Group 2M:
These units are somewhat resistant to “skilled manipulation”. You’ll
most commonly find these locking safes slightly more robust than the
average aforementioned RSCs; more resistant to heavy hand and power
tools.

Group 1:
These combination locks are “highly resistant” to “expert
manipulation”. These aren’t your average locks; they generally feature a
lot of extra bells and whistles, specifically designed to keep out
professional burglars. You may find a lock of this caliber on an
explosion resistant safe - even a bank vault. They’ve been proven to
withstand at least 20 hours of expert manipulation.

Group 1R:
In the realm of combination locks, 1R is the cream of the crop. It has
all the features and manipulation resistance of Group 1, with the
addition the ability to content with radiological attacks. Extremely
savvy professionals have been known to employ X rays and gamma rays to
visually reveal the position of the lock’s internal components - not
happening on this bad boy.

Electronic Locks

Electronic
locks generally operate differently than combination locks and are
therefore rated as such. They’re typically opened by the owner using
keypad entry. All UL listed electronic locks must employ relocker, and
have, at the minimum, one million different possible combinations.

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From
electronic keypads to biometric fingerprint readers, there are
a whole lot of ways to get into a safe. That said, even with so much
variety available, I still prefer trusty old safe combination locks.
Sure,...